Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) urged more protests against corruption in a statement released on Monday, adding that it is planning rallies nationwide for October and November.
‘Bayan calls for sustained local and nationwide protests to ensure that all those who plundered the public coffers will face accountability,’ the statement read.
‘We call for more walkouts in universities, sit-down strikes, street protests, and noise barrage actions in communities to reflect the people’s clamor for fundamental social change,’ Bayan continued.
The group pointed out that the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) ‘lacks teeth, independence, and transparency as it conducts investigations in closed-door sessions,’ alluding to the ICI not publicizing its proceedings.
Bayan further concluded that the ICI’s move to keep its investigations private is proof that the commission was made ‘to prevent scrutiny into the ghost projects and other fraudulent expenses’ of the current administration.
It also claimed that the corruption probe in Congress is ‘compromised,’ and the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. must take accountability for the flood-control controversies.
With this, the group revealed that it is preparing for protests nationwide in October and November, together with various groups and sectors.
‘It is only through the people’s collective action that we can exact accountability from corrupt officials,’ Bayan declared.
A series of anti-corruption protests ensued in September, brought on by the probe into the supposed flood-control project anomalies, which linked government officials as key players in the alleged misuse of public funds.
The largest protest against corruption was held on September 21 with tens of thousands of attendees who gathered in Luneta Park in Manila, and the People Power Monument along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue in Quezon City.
Moreover, universities and some schools organized academic walkouts to denounce the purported corruption in government.